Happy Birthday, Papa!

I'm very sure that when we celebrated Papa's birthday last year, none of us dreamed that we would be celebrating this year from Verona, Italy, with a new family member recuperating from surgery.  Isn't it amazing how much things can change in one year's time?  I wonder if next year, Anna will be able to hear as we sing "Happy Birthday."

We started our day with our daily visit to the hospital for Anna's shots.  Everyday, they tell us to come at 9:00 a.m., fasting, because "maybe we will do the blood examination."  Each day, we have to put Anna off as she asks for something to eat.  When we get to the hospital, we wait.  (That's not so unlike what happens in America.)   Today, we arrived at 9, got shots at 10:30, got the blood examination at 11:00, the steroids at 11:10, and were out the door by 11:15.  Finally, Anna could eat!

It was a dreary, rainy day, but we had decided that we would treat ourselves to a special lunch for Papa's birthday.  Our only criteria were that the place needed to be "typical" of Verona (for the experience), reasonably priced, and within walking distance from our apartment.  We found a quaint little place relatively nearby that fit the bill - in business since 1876 and just as darling as you could imagine.  But we chose it because of the name - Trattoria della Amelia.  It was warm and cozy, and we had a delicious pasta lunch.  Anna ate and ate!  (So did Papa!)

We headed back to the apartment for the afternoon -- too rainy to do any touring.  The castlevecchio and all the other sights will have to wait.  I asked Papa what he would want for dinner if he were in America, and he said, "fajitas."  So, I trekked my soggy self to the market for chicken and peppers to try to come up with something akin to fajitas.  I was even able to find tortillas!  Alas, I could not find an avocado or jalapeno anywhere.  Our fajitas would never win a tasting contest, but they were just fine for a humble birthday dinner.  We even got a little cake and candles.  Anna LOVED seeing Papa with a cake and candles -- it helped her understand that today was Papa's special day.

By bedtime, Anna was tired and ready to retire.  She didn't put up the least bit of fuss at bedtime.  The rest of us are headed that way soon.

I'm sorry I cannot share today's photos.  I don't know if the problem has to do with the weather or what, but our Internet has been very spotty and very slow today.  Maybe tomorrow!

Hugs,
Amy